"Come back here!" shouted the guide. Harriet halted. She hesitated at
sight of the black shadows there rather than at the command. She
distinctly heard some one floundering over a high board fence that shut
in the rear yard of the store and post-office. Janus's hand was on her
arm.

"Well, I swum!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, that's too bad. He got away," cried Harriet ruefully. "I was too
slow. I could have caught him just as well as not, had I not been so
stupid as to wait."

Harriet and the guide walked to where her companions were standing, not
certain what they ought to do, not quite sure what had occurred.

"This one's all right," chuckled Janus. "She's got the spunk, but she
needs watching. She'll get the whole outfit in trouble. Tell me about
it," he concluded, turning to Harriet.

"You saw it, sir?" asked Harriet quickly.

"I didn't see anything," returned the guide. "The man was standing on
the spot where you are standing at this moment. He was listening to
what we were saying, but for what reason I can't imagine. I made the
mistake of calling to you. I shouldn't have done that. When you
started for him he disappeared."

"Yes, we saw him; then we did not," added Miss Elting.